 The general rule of thumb, back in the 8 and 16 bit era of gaming was, if it's a licensed game and it's not a mega popular license like Ninja Turtles or Batman or something that just lends itself well to a video game format, then chances are that it's gonna suck especially if it's based off of a TV show. I mean was the world really clamoring for a game based on home improvement? But then you've got oddball stuff like SeaQuest DSV. For those unfamiliar, SeaQuest ran in Primetime on NBC from 93 to 96, and it starred Jonathan Brandis and Roy Scheider, otherwise known as the guy from Jaws. The show was alright, I guess. It had kind of a Star Trek next generation vibe, but underwater. And thankfully, developer Sculptured Software decided against making this yet another hop and bop platformer, instead dividing the game into a mission structure. But first, you gotta get through the tutorial, which thankfully is reasonably short and does a decent job demonstrating what this game is all about. You gotta navigate your ship to these different areas on the map here that will trigger different objectives. See, your ship acts like a hub that houses all sorts of other vehicles that carry out these missions. There's four other vehicles, plus a probe, plus a talking dolphin named Darwin. Alright. There's the speeder, a weaker ship used for maneuverability. There's the Stinger, your main attack ship that you use for fighting. The SeaCrab is used for excavating and mining so you can salvage stuff and rescue people. You can also do that with the big ass sea truck here, but it's much slower. But it does pack more of a punch for more dangerous areas. The probe can be used to repair structures and to activate switches. And Darwin is used to talk about that great 93 Phillies team. You know guys like John Cruck, Darren Dalton, and Dave Hollins? I swear every guy in that lineup had like half a tin of skull in their mouths at all times. But yeah, no, you use the dolphin to activate hard to reach switches, but it's always a risk using it because it has no weapon. You start out in an isometric angle, piloting this huge ship around, and you get a message. Press select, you go to the info tab, and it'll say hey, use the crab to grab this stuff over here. Go back to the menu, go to the bay, and select the crab, and you're transported to a 2D viewpoint where you're collecting stuff while dodging Shamu over here. Like that, and then go to the next part of the map, get another message, hey, these pirate dudes are trying to steal some stuff, I guess. So you clear the area of enemies with either the speeder or the stinger, then come back with either the crab or the sea truck to haul the stuff back onto the ship. That's pretty much how the structure works here. Missions include everything from disarming explosives, salvaging equipment, rescuing trapped people, making stuff go boom or sometimes just exploring and finding something. I gotta give the game credit. It's actually kind of interesting and not all that bad for what it is. That being said, some folks out there would be bored to tears by this kind of game, especially by today's standards. But all told, this game is reasonably well put together, it catches the vibe of the show well, you never go too long looking for missions, and the vehicles themselves provide a bit of replay value. The dolphin in particular is kind of neat, since you pretty much have to do a passive run to get past any obstacle where you need to go. I will say though, the combat isn't anything special, it's pretty bland, and some of the ships don't control all that well, like the speeder and the sea truck. But it's nothing game breaking or anything like that. If anything, if you play this one, you may find the maneuverability surprisingly flexible in some ships, since you can move in all directions including up and down. And hey, if you want to say, hey, to heck with the missions, then you can head to mining sites and look for money. That kind of freedom isn't all that common in Super Nintendo games. Now if you're like me, you'll just want to go all contra on everything and shoot everything that moves. But sadly, you can't do that. Anything you do damage to, that you're not supposed to, gets deducted from your budget. Yes, that's right. This game is one third combat, one third exploration, and one third ledger simulation. Accountants everywhere are rejoicing. I can't help but imagine an enraged John Stossel doing a piece on the outrageous government pricing that some of these properties command. I mean, give me a break! But yeah, there's money involved here that's normally reserved for ammo and buying new vehicles, and really, it does make sense. After all, SeaQuest's whole motif is saving the oceans, not destroying everything in them. Anyway, the ammo and money management aspect doesn't bog things down too much. It's pretty straightforward stuff. If there were any letdowns in SeaQuest DSV, I'd have to say it's the music. I mean, it's fine. It's just not memorable at all, and it gets super repetitive after a while. But maybe that's just me, since I'm so used to other underwater games having such fantastic music, like Echo the Dolphin and even Waterworld. Hell, I even muted SeaQuest just so I could put on Dean Evans' Waterworld soundtrack on Because It Just Fit Better. I wouldn't blame you if you did the same thing. But yeah, SeaQuest DSV for Super Nintendo is another game that's perfectly decent for what it is. But what it is is not for everyone. I like exploration games like this, and I like the mission structure which keeps the game moving while changing things up once in a while. And there's a password system too, so you don't have to beat the game in one sitting. Like I said though, by today's standards this game might be boring as heck for some people, but I think the effort behind a licensed game for a TV show should be commended. And hey, if you'd rather play it on Genesis, you can do that too, since the Sega Edition is pretty much the same thing. SeaQuest DSV is unspectacular but solid, and a decent playthrough. And I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.